A crew from G&F Agri Service LLC uses heavy equipment to remove an almond orchard and to turn the trees into wood chips at Baker Farming Company in Firebaugh, Calif., on Feb. 3. The state’s drought has forced farmers to remove some almond orchards earlier than they normally would because they don’t expect to have enough irrigation water.

SAN FRANCISCO — Meteorologists forecast a pair of storms could dump several inches of rain on parched cities and croplands throughout California in the coming week, bringing welcome news to a state that has just endured its driest year in recorded history.

While the rain won’t be enough to end the drought, the National Weather Service projected Sunday the much-needed precipitation could nearly double the amount of rainfall in parts of the San Francisco Bay Area this year.

By next Saturday, the twin Pacific storms are expected to bring as much as 2 inches of rain to the coast and several feet of snow to the Sierra Nevada.

The first storm on Wednesday won’t offer much relief, just light overnight rains heading into Thursday. By Friday, radar images show the second storm should drench the entire state for 24 hours.

“We’re not calling it a drought-buster, but it definitely will make a difference,” said Jim Bagnall, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Hanford, one of many San Joaquin Valley towns where farmers have fallowed crops in anticipation of record low water supplies. “With these few storms, we could see about an inch total in the valley. So this could obviously have some significant impact.”

The wet weather is badly needed: Since July 1, only 5.85 inches of rain have fallen in San Francisco, or about 35 percent of normal for this time of year. Just 1.2 inches have fallen in downtown Los Angeles, compared to 10.45 inches in a normal year.

By the end of next weekend, several feet of snow could blanket the Sierra, reaching as low as about 4,500 feet, Bagnall said.

Looking further into the future, meteorologists say computer models show another sign of hope: greater chances that this year could see El Nino conditions and accompanying rainfall.

Researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in November there was a 36 percent chance of El Nino conditions developing by August 2014. NOAA recently updated that probability to 49 percent.

Scientists are quick to say that El Nino conditions don’t guarantee that California will receive heavy rainfall. But if the pattern is strong and temperatures are warm in the Pacific Ocean, the likelihood of heavy rainfall increases.